Fuel feeding system for vehicles



Nov. 28, 1967 i B. WALKER 3,354,979

FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES Filed Jan. 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l I A l 27 l' 29 A l l y n Lf 1 Ml u d 35 Nov. 28, 1967 B. WALKER 3,354,979

FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM FOR VEHICLES Filed Jan. 25, 1965 v2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @LEED 0PE/V HLEED CLOSED United States yPatent O M 4'FUELFEEDING SYSTEM. FOR VEHICLES lBrooks Walker, '1280 Columbia fAve.,

j San Francisco, Calif, A941171 Filed Jan. 25, 1965, SerNo. 427,722 6Claims. (C-l. 180-77) ABSTRACT -oF THEfDsCLosURE This yinventionr.pertains to vimprovements. in means for vtesting `and observing. the: fuel .feeding system for -vehicles particularly for Vtes'tingfsmogcontrol ydevices o'n'vehicles wherein it is desirable" toiiave-a'reduced or noxllow of fuel from the carburetorto `the engine'during-:highspeed closed throttle decelerations combined with automatic means vfor automatically 'turningon 'the full flow from the carburetor during closed throttle decelerations when the engine Speed drops below a predeterminedspeed. Such a visible L'flow 'deviceas'this 'is 'also vldesirable for `vdemon- 'stratingfuel"'economy"'and teaching 'fuel consumption lin schools 'and'colleges Another object of the inventon is to provide fuel flow visible from the drivers compartment including an enclosure that is mostly transparent or has a transparent window to observe the ow of fuel into said enclosure and provide means of keeping an air volume above the surface of the fuel in said enclosure by adjustments operable from the drivers compartment.

Another object is to provide an adjustable air bleed to the intake of the fuel pump that supplies fuel from a low level fuel tank to supply air to the intake to the fuel pump and subsequently to supply air to the air bell in the top of the viewing enclosure and simultaneously supplying fuel pressure from the fuel pump and in turn from the viewing enclosure which is continuously under full fuel pump pressure for supplying normal fuel flow to the carburetor of the engine in all conditions of engine operation.

Another object is to provide an adjustment for said air bleed operable from inside the vehicle drivers compartment.

Another object is to provide an intake to the air bleed well above the gravity head of fuel from the fuel tank when either ascending or descending a 20% grade.

Another object is an automatic shut olf of said bleed in the form of a pendulum type shut off for said air bleed that will automatically close said bleed when ascending a steep hill or when accelerating rapidly but automatically open said bleed when operating normally on a level road or descending a grade.

Another object is to provide an improved fuel jet type entry into said enclosure for better visual presentation of the rate of fuel ow in the form of a fuel inlet nozzle at the intake entry to said enclosure.

Another object is to improve the means of maintaining the air bell over the fuel level in the containers by leaving air near the top of said enclosure. An outlet near the bottom of said enclosure and a deflector between said inlet nozzle and said outlet to reduce the loss of air by air bubbles passing into said outlet on rapid ow of fuel through said container. Without such a detlector the fuel jet on high volume fuel flow as in hill climbing or rapid acceleration will force air bubbles to the bottom of the enclosure and they will flow out the low level outlet and reduce or lose the air bell over the fuel in the enclosure.

Other objects will be pointed out in the accompanying specification and claims.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings in which:

3,354,979 Patented Nov. "278, 1967 i12-by an arm 9`and a drive`spring'8 in the usual manner.

Line 13 connectsithe fuelpurnp 12to the fuel `tank 14.

Bleed line-15 connects the fuel line'13 to a bleed valve 16. Bleed adjustment screw-17 controls the rate `of bleed,

y-and a pendulum 18 controls-a bleed port Valve 19 to close -a bleed port 20 when accelerating rapidlyor when climbing-'a substantial hill, as in both cases a rapid llow of fuel from the fuel pump..12 is neededby the carburetor 25 of the engine`10.

Anou'tlet line 2li-leads by a nozzle 27 to an accumulator28, which may havea metal head portion 29 and a transparent glass or plastic bowl v30 held on by a rod 31 -and a-tightening screw 32, asis common in some fuel iilterconstructions. An outletv pipe 33 picks up fuel 34 from near the bottom of bowl 30. To prevent the fuel from jet 27 from bringing too many air bubbles from the air chamber 35 above the fuel 34 into the outlet pipe 33, a deilector 36 is provided to intercept the flow from the jet 27 to the fuel from which the outlet 33 leads. A pipe 37 connects the tube 33 to the carburetor 25 of motor 10.

By adjusting the bleed screw 17, while driving the vehicle, the level of the fuel 34 in the enclosure or transparent bowl 30 can be controlled and the flow or fuel through jet 27 from pump 12 to the float bowl of the carburetor 25 can be observed while idling, cruising, accelerating, decelerating, etc.

A hand operated shut olf valve 38 for line 26 before the fuel enters fuel jet 27 is sometimes desirable to shut off the flow of fuel to the transparent bowl 30, then the ow of fuel from the bowl 30 to the carburetor 25 can be timed for short rate-of-flow checks. For this purpose the amount of fuel in the bowl 30 can be read by graduation 40 on the bowl 30.

Where accelerating or hill climbing, the pendulum type weight 18 moves the valve 19 to close the bleed port 20, for better supply of large discharge volume from the pump 12 through lines 26 and 37 to the carburetor 25 during such acceleration or hill climbing.

The high location of bleed valve port 20 is desirable to prevent gravity flow from the fuel tank 14 to the bleed Valve 16 when descending or ascending a steep hill or when parked on such a hill.

Such a device may be more desirable in test or demonstration vehicles than in the average citizens vehicles but this may have to be proven.

Though the bleed valve 16 and the accumulator 2S are shown in the drivers compartment, they might be outside the window or Windshield, but preferably at a location where the valve 17 can be reached by the operator or passenger and where the fuel ow in the container can be seen by the passenger and driver without the drivers eyes being too far from their road viewing position.

I have illustrated my invention in these various forms; however, many other variations may be possible Within the scope of this invention.

To those skilled in the art to which this invention relates many changes in construction and widely dil-lering embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The disclosures and description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

I claim as my invention:

l. A fuel feeding system fora vehicle having an engine for driving said vehicle, including in combination a fuel tank, a fuel pump connected to said tank and driven by power from said engine, a fuel and air mixing device attached to said engine, an accumulator through which fuel passes from said fuel pump to said fuel and air mixing device, said accumulator having a portion of its housing transparent for viewing the height of the fuel in the accumulator and an outlet located near the bottom of said accumulator and leading to said fuel and air mixing device, an inlet nozzle near the top of said accumulator for discharging fuel coming from said pump, and an air bleed device connected to the intake side of said fuel pump for introducing air in order to help establish a sizable head of air above the fuel in said accumulator.

2. The system as described in claim 1, wherein said accumulator includes a deilector for intercepting the flow of fuel between said inlet nozzle and said outlet to reduce the amount of air to be taken into said outlet from the amount of air that would go out said outlet if there were no said defiector, at times when said vehicle is operating at heavy loads of accelerating or hill climbing.

3. A fuel feed control device for use with a fuel pump for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine in a vehicle driven by said engine, said vehicle having a drivers compartment and a hood over said engine, comprising an air bleed connected to the intake side of said fuel pump, a pendulum type valve for closing said bleed when said vehicle is going up a steep grade or when rapidly accelerating, and a flow meter connected to the discharge side of said pump and located in said vehicle in a position visible from said drivers compartment While driving said vehicle with said hood closed.

4. A device as described in claim 3, in which said air bleed also includes a manually operable valve for shutting oif said air bleed and also for adjusting the size of passage of said air bleed.

5. A device as described in claim 3, wherein said air bleed has an opening to atmosphere located near the top of said drivers compartment.

6. A device as described in claim 3, in which said fuel pump is located near one end of said vehicle, with a fuel tank at the other end of said vehicle from said fuel pump, said air bleed having an outlet to the atmosphere located above the level of the fuel in said tank when said vehicle is ascending or descending a 20% hill.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,933,379 10/1933 Mock 180--77 2,146,397 2/1939 Kommer 15S-36.3 2,998,056 8/1961 Capehart l58-36.3

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A FUEL FEEDING SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE HAVING AN ENGINE FOR DRIVING SAID VEHICLE, INCLUDING IN COMBINATION A FUEL TANK, A FUEL PUMP CONNECTED TO SAID TANK AND DRIVEN BY POWER FROM SAID ENGINE, A FUEL AND AIR MIXING DEVICE ATTACHED TO SAID ENGINE, AN ACCUMULATOR THROUGH WHICH FUEL PASSES FROM SAID FUEL PUMP TO SAID FUEL AND AIR MIXING DEVICE, SAID ACCUMULATOR HAVING A PORTION OF ITS HOUSING TRANSPARENT FOR VIEWING THE HEIGHT OF THE FUEL IN THE ACCUMULATOR AND AN OUTLET LOCATED NEAR THE BOTTOM OF SAID ACCUMULATOR AND LEADING TO SAID FUEL AND AIR MIXING DE- 